Walt Disney Co. has made a fortune out of turning little girls into princesses. Now it's setting its sights on a slightly older crowd.

In a move to expand the reach of one of its most popular franchises, Cinderella and her regal friends are moving into the bridal business with a line of wedding dresses and accessories. Disney has teamed up with couture bridal designer Kirstie Kelly to transform blushing brides into their favorite princesses, complete with billowing gowns and crystal tiaras. At a cost of $1,100 to $3,000 for each gown, brides will be able to walk down the aisle in dresses inspired by Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine or Ariel.

As Kelly sees it, Cinderella is “classic glamour” – the dresses in her line come in high-shine satin with ball-gown skirts and make generous use of silver embroidery and crystals. Snow White has a slightly more conservative look dubbed “sweet elegance.” Ariel and Jasmine models are considerably racier. Ariel, who played the title role in “The Little Mermaid,” has a “sultry allure” and is “comfortable showing her body.” Jasmine, from “Aladdin,” is “bohemian chic,” and her various dresses are big on sheath and lace. In all, Disney will offer 34 princess designs for its first season.

The new wedding gowns, which will go on sale made-to-order at bridal boutiques in North America in June, are an effort by Disney to extend its line of princess paraphernalia to older consumers. Created in 2001 when the company's consumer-products division started packaging its female characters, Disney Princess has grown into a craze among little girls that is fast approaching annual sales of $3.5 billion from costumes, dolls, bedroom furniture and other regalia.

In thinking of ways it could reach outside the core princess crowd of 3-to 6-year-olds, Disney honed in on women who had grown up with the characters. Brides seemed an obvious target.

“Most brides, even the cynical ones, want to be a princess on their wedding day and see their husband-to-be as Prince Charming,” Kelly said.

But don't expect the gaudy princess costumes that kids run around in. Kelly says her designs are more about capturing the “mood” of the princess than creating an exact replica of each of the cartoon characters' outfits.

That means using more subtle colors than the startling pinks, yellows and blues of the mini-princess world.

The dresses aren't Disney's first venture into weddings. The company has a popular wedding service at its theme parks. Thousands of couples have been married to such tunes as “Someday My Prince Will Come,” with their wedding rings offered up in a glass slipper before being whisked away in Cinderella's coach. On Wednesday, the company unveiled a new wedding-planning service from celebrity party planner David Tutera, starting at around $75,000 for 50 guests.

Until now, brides who wanted the full princess experience had to design their own gowns. In its research leading up to the decision to make the dresses, Disney found that brides tend to spend more on their dress than they plan to, which amounts to an average 10 percent of a $26,000 total budget.

In designing the dresses, Kelly says she spent night after night watching animated Disney movies such as “Cinderella.” Then she tried to imagine what the modern-day equivalent of each of the princesses would be.

She pictured Sleeping Beauty as a creative type and labeled her “pretty romance.” Her dress features an elegant A-line skirt with pearl-like beads and crystals at the hem. By contrast, Belle, from “Beauty and the Beast,” “knows who she is” and would be a doctor or lawyer. Her dress with “stylish sophistication” comes in taffeta and features her signature roses.

Some of the princesses skew slightly older than others, Kelly felt. Belle, for instance, is an older bride, perhaps 30 to 35, while Snow White is younger, maybe in her early 20s.